This is just a random thought, but I think there are some pretty strange quotes on here sometimes. I just got one that said, "Hope is like a hairball, trembling from its birth." I mean, really, who says sh*t like that? It makes them a little tougher I guess. I certainly wasn't expecting the word "hairball" to be sure!:D

bansaisequoia

10-10-2008, 08:18 PM

Maybe this quote was said by Sgt Mick Belker?;)

maradnu

10-10-2008, 09:33 PM

As best I can tell, it was written by Christina Rossetti, a nineteen century British poet, of Italian ancestry, who suffered from depression, as well as nervous breakdown.

She also wrote:

"O Earth, lie heavily upon her eyes; Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth; Lie close around her; leave no room for mirth. With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs. She hath no questions, she hath no replies, Hush'd in and curtain'd with a bless'd dearth. Of all that irk'd her from the hour of birth; With stillness that is almost Paradise. Darkness more clear than noonday holdeth her, Silence more musical than any song; Even her very heart has ceased to stir: Until the morning of Eternity, Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be; And when she wakes she will not think it long."

kat

10-10-2008, 09:47 PM

That is lovely, but I can just imagine a cryptogram with "hush'd" or "curtain'd" in it...not to mention "bless'd dearth". ;) That would be a stumper.:p

maradnu

10-10-2008, 10:13 PM

Stephen does slip in some archaic poetic contractions occasionally like "hush'd". It does make the crypto more challenging.

I agree the hairball thing is weird though.

sonofcarc

10-10-2008, 10:58 PM

Christina R. was a Victorian lady and much too refined to write about hairballs.

I bet what she wrote was "Hope is like a harebell . . ." (flower).

sonofcarc

10-10-2008, 11:00 PM

Yup. Here's the full quote:

Hope is like a harebell, trembling from its birth,
Love is like a rose, the joy of all the earth,
Faith is like a lily, lifted high and white,
Love is like a lovely rose, the world’s delight.
Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth,
But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.

You do get some weird misreadings on here. Like all the quotes sourced to "Irish Murdoch."

maradnu

10-10-2008, 11:15 PM

Well, I was not at all familiar with the harebell.

I'm sure Stephen or whomever, just copied a quote he found, without checking or editing. I do find the "hairball" version on the internet, but then lots of typos crop up there, like references to "Irish" Murdoch. I've complained about that in the past, to little avail.

Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia L.)

Harebell, often called “bluebell”, is a flower found around the world in the Northern Hemisphere but most often, associated with Scotland. Harebell has many common names including bellflower, lady's thimble, witch's thimble, heathbells, fairies’ thimbles, and dead men’s bells.

Harebell grows in a variety of habitats ranging from full sun to shade; dry to moderate moisture; woods, meadows, cliffs, and beaches; in sandy, gravely soil. It can be found at elevations up to 12,000 feet in the Western United States.

Harebell flowers in the summer and fall. Its stem leaves are narrow and grass like, but the basal leaves are rather round, hence the specific name rotundifolia. The narrow, wiry stem averages about a foot tall, while the thin, papery flowers are usually about an inch long. The plant has a milky sap when the stem or leaves are broken. The plants are much hardier than they look.